Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
February 3, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re closing in quickly on that time of year when months of work will play out in girls basketball league championships and this winter – for the first time – seeding of the top two teams at the District level.
Much could be determined in league races this week – check out our “Can’t-Miss Contests” below, which include a sixth game because five just wasn’t enough to note all of the high-profile conference clashes that deserve mention.
We’re also less than two weeks from undertaking the seeding process in basketball for the first time – and need your help. The teams receiving those top-two spots in District brackets – for girls and boys – will do so based on success and strength of schedule, and it’s imperative for MHSAA.com to list all games played and correct scores for each. Know a score we don’t or realize a game is missing that should be added? Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected]. Every result affects multiples of others, and we thank you for your help in advance.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on those results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 68, Detroit Martin Luther King 43 – The Technicians clinched the Detroit Public School League East title outright by handing rival King its first loss.
2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 36, Farmington Hills Mercy 29 – The Mustangs moved into a first-place tie in the Detroit Catholic League Central by handing rival Mercy its first loss and after falling to the Marlins 46-34 on Jan. 7.
3. Midland Dow 52, Midland 33 – The Chargers avenged a 38-31 loss from Dec. 19 in a big way, handing the rival Chemics their first defeat.
4. Southfield Arts & Technology 59, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 47 – The Warriors’ tough schedule is paying off as they’ve won five of their last six games and handed Carman-Ainsworth its first loss.
5. Detroit Edison 54, Detroit Renaissance 52 – Edison moved to 12-0, but the Phoenix gave the Pioneers their closest in-state game in nearly two calendar years.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Battle Creek Lakeview (9-4) After winning 12 games both of the last two seasons, the Spartans are on pace to surpass that total by the end of the regular season. They also enjoy a slight lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East after avenging their opening-night loss to Battle Creek Central (10-3) with a 35-33 win Friday. Lakeview’s only two losses since an 0-2 start are to teams with double-digit wins, Portage Central (10-2) and Battle Creek Harper Creek (11-2).
Detroit Cass Tech (12-1) As noted above, Cass Tech is a league champion again after sharing the PSL Midtown title with King last season. LaTonya Tate, a star on Cass Tech’s 1987 Class A championship team, has built the program into a contender again. Its only loss was to Davison on Dec. 29 at the Motor City Roundball Classic, and Cass Tech also picked up a strong 46-40 win over Southfield A&T on Jan. 25
DIVISION 2
Cadillac (12-0) A 42-40 win a week ago over McBain provided one of the few scares of the season for the Big North Conference-leading Vikings. They’ve run their league winning streak to 16 after closing last winter in the Division 2 Quarterfinals – pretty impressive only a season and a half removed from a 3-18 finish in 2017-18. Cadillac can clinch the league title – at least a share, or outright – Friday against Traverse City West.
Ludington (11-1) Since falling big to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (12-2) in its season opener, Ludington is unbeaten and nearly unchallenged with only two of those wins by single digits and those two games both against Division 1 schools. The Orioles hold a one-game lead on Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Lakes 8 Athletic Conference standings after sharing the title with the Warriors a year ago.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The reigning Division 3 champion had high expectations for this season and rightly so, bringing back most of its firepower from a year ago. The Pirates have celebrated two seniors scoring their 1,000th career points this winter and an early win over Southfield A&T. The losses were pretty strong too – to Grass Lake (12-1) and Division 1 East Lansing (12-1). P-W could meet Grass Lake again in a Semifinal at Breslin.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (12-4) After falling to P-W in overtime in a Division 3 Semifinal last season, the Gators are sticking to a winning gameplan. They’ve played 12 of 16 games against teams with winning records and seven games against teams with double-digit wins. They beat two of those 10-win teams over the last two weeks – Royal Oak Shrine Catholic and Jackson Northwest – and their three in-state losses were to Division 1 Ann Arbor Huron (12-2) and Brighton (11-1) and Division 2 Harper Woods Chandler Park (7-6).
DIVISION 4
Camden-Frontier (13-1) Even with just one loss, Camden-Frontier probably was considered just a notch below undefeated Pittsford heading into last week’s matchup – plus Pittsford had beaten C-F at least 17 times in a row (which is as far back as MHSAA.com data goes). But the Redskins came away with a 54-34 win and moved into a first-place tie with the Wildcats in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. They meet again Feb. 17.
Deckerville (10-3) The Eagles entered one of the biggest small-school games in the state last week battling history as well as an unbeaten opponent – and owned the night. Deckerville avenged a 41-28 loss to Kingston from Dec. 16, handing the Cardinals their first loss this season and first league loss since 2013-14. The win also put Deckerville into a first-place tie with Kingston in the North Central Thumb League Stars.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (13-1) at Grosse Pointe South (10-3) – Dakota leads the Macomb Area Conference Red with two more wins than South, but South handed Dakota its only loss, 49-46, on Jan. 17.
Tuesday – Michigan Center (10-3) at Grass Lake (12-1) – Grass Lake won the first meeting 51-46 on Dec. 18 and can edge closer toward the Cascades Conference title with a regular-season sweep.
Thursday – Brooklyn Columbia Central (12-1) at Ida (12-2) – This could nearly decide the Lenawee County Athletic Association title as BCC looks to hold off Ida for the second straight season and won the first matchup 44-36 on Jan. 7.
Thursday – St. Ignace (10-1) at Sault Ste. Marie (11-1) – The Blue Devils are hoping to take back a share of first place in the Straits Area Conference after losing it to the Saints in a 40-37 nail-biter Dec. 20.
Friday – DeWitt (11-2) at East Lansing (12-1) – The Trojans lead the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by a game over DeWitt thanks to a 62-38 win over the Panthers on Dec. 20.
Friday – Fremont (9-4) at Big Rapids (12-1) – Fremont’s 39-33 win in the first meeting Dec. 20 was Big Rapids’ only loss, and remains the reason Big Rapids trails only Fremont in the Central State Activities Association Gold.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Deckerville handed Kingston its first loss of the season last week, and first league loss since 2013-14. (Photo by Jackie Salowitz.)
Laker Following Mother's Path as Wayland Multi-Sport Standout
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2024
When Wayland junior Harmony Laker opted to embrace athletics many years ago, she never worried about following some pretty impressive footsteps nor matching the hefty accomplishments of someone very close to her, a mentor who had herself been a standout three-sport athlete in high school.
In fact, Laker has wound up starring in the same three sports in which her mother, 2000 Wayland grad Kara Potter, also excelled in high school – basketball, volleyball and softball.
Kara was all-conference in all three sports and earned all-state recognition in volleyball and basketball. Harmony has been all-league since her freshman season in the same three, and all-region in volleyball and basketball.
Just a chip off the old block? Maybe, says Harmony.
But if there is anything mother and daughter have in common it's a love of sports.
"They introduced me to sports, and I've always strived to be like my parents," Harmony Laker said. "I was always drawn toward basketball, volleyball and softball. That's where my heart has always been, on a court or a field.
"I always wanted to play three sports; that's been my goal since middle school. Like my mother, I've always taken them seriously."
Like her mother, Laker hasn't just lettered in three sports – she's been outstanding. As a junior, she's already shattered the 1,000-point career basketball mark, reaching the milestone when she scored 38 points against Grand Rapids South Christian in late January. She's averaging 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists per game.
In volleyball, Laker had 864 kills, 513 digs, 80 blocks and 64 aces while serving 90 percent this season.
In softball, Laker has a 29-4 record as a pitcher over her first two seasons while batting .449 with six doubles and three homers as a sophomore. She's twice made all-conference in that sport, leading Wayland to two conference titles.
Kara Laker – also Wayland’s volleyball coach – said she and Harmony's father, Lance, a former varsity basketball coach at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, never tried to edge their daughter toward athletics.
But when Harmony took up a variety of sports, the parents had one standing rule: Commit to the sport you're playing at the time. Worry about the other sports when it's time.
"Sports has always been a big part of our lives," Kara said. "We've never pushed our kids, but we've told them if you're going to be successful, you have to put in the time. My parents wanted us to do what we could (in sports). It was always in our prayers that our kids would truly love all sports. We're a competitive family, and we've always been drawn to sports."
The Laker family navigates a busy sports schedule. Liberty Laker plays volleyball at Grace Christian University, eighth grader Charity plays the same three sports as her mother and sister, and third grader Christian plays football, baseball and basketball.
"We divide and conquer," Kara said of her and her husband following the robust schedules of four children.
Harmony's first memories of sports involve supplying water to her father's basketball players. From there, she progressed to copying the three sports in which her mother excelled.
Kara won Wayland's coveted Multer Award as the school's top multi-sport athlete. Harmony hasn't won the award yet, but seems a shoo-in before she graduates in 2025.
Kara said it's tougher for athletes now to play three sports as AAU and travel sports often collide with high school athletics. But in terms of playing three, she said that decision has always been left to the kids.
"It's harder these days, but we were three-sport athletes who wanted to be good in all three," said Kara, who admits she's had discussions with Harmony about narrowing her participation list.
"It's actually a discussion we're having at this moment," she said. "A lot of it comes down to coaches and having them all work together so Harmony can play."
In order of preference, Harmony lists her favorite sports as basketball, volleyball and softball. But when it comes to cutting out a sport, Harmony hedges. If she plays all three as a senior – and that's currently the plan – she'll leave Wayland with 12 varsity letters, a rarity in today's high school sports world.
Harmony said the advice offered by her parents is the same that trickled down from their parents (her grandparents). Play as many sports as you choose, but also be well-rounded off the courts and fields.
Harmony is a member of the National Honor Society, leads the Wayland chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is a member of the student council and has gone on numerous mission trips through her church.
But when it comes to athletics, Harmony is quick to revert to what she was taught early.
"I just want to work at my craft. You're only as good as the time you put in," she said. "My mom and dad have always said it's the heart that makes sports great. There are so many moments which are trials in sports and games, but ultimately that is what's going to make you better.
"Playing with pressure is a privilege. If a game is close and you have to execute, that's a privilege. God has put you out there for a reason, and you take the moments as they come."
PHOTOS (Top) Wayland’s Harmony Laker lines up for a free throw while playing her favorite sport, basketball. (2) Harmony, right, is successfully following in the multi-sport footsteps of her mother, Kara Laker. (3) Harmony Laker (12) soars to get a hand on a ball during volleyball season. (4) Laker makes her move toward the plate as a pitcher during the spring. (Action photos by Shannon N Jessica Photography.) mother/daughter photo courtesy of the Laker family.)